


Routine

by rudbeckia



Series: Spookylux Huxloween 2018 [9]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Huxloween, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-10-09
Packaged: 2019-07-20 04:56:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16130081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rudbeckia/pseuds/rudbeckia
Summary: Huxloween day 9: Repeat a day foreverHux has routines. He lives every day the same way as the day before, and he knows tomorrow will be the same again.Ben wants to make a change.





	Routine

The alarm beeped only once before it was silenced with a click. A pale hand retracted under the bedding and a shock of ginger hair moved across the white pillowcase. Slowly, two green eyes opened and blinked. Hux sat up and stretched, swung his legs out of bed and stood up. He reached for his robe, pulled it on and tied it around his waist, then ventured out in search of tea. Ben was already in the kitchen. As he had done every morning for the past week, Hux offered him a quick hug and a peck on the cheek.  
“Mmm, thanks,” he said, accepting a mug of strong tea in exchange for the kiss. He sipped it slowly at first, as he always did, then gulped it down once it had cooled enough.  
“What time are you going?” Ben asked. Hux shook his head and laughed.  
“You ask the exact same thing every morning,” he said. “I plan to leave for work at the same time I always do.”  
“That’s what you always tell me,” said Ben, smiling. “Correct, yet completely uninformative.”

Hux made his own second cup of tea because Ben always used the shower in Hux’s ensuite first. As usual, Ben borrowed Hux’s shampoo and left the lid off, because _you’re going to use it so I saved you the trouble of opening it._ As usual, Hux complained with insincere exasperation that Ben wasn’t properly house trained. Hux showered quickly and slicked his hair back into its usual severe style then dressed in his dark grey work suit. He called out goodbye to Ben, who never answered, and drove to work along the same streets as he always used in the morning to avoid the worst of the jams, pulled into his reserved parking space and entered his building at the same time as his assistant. Hux and Mitaka exchanged polite good mornings. Hux went into his office, logged into his computer and brought up his schedule. Mitaka brought him a mug of tea and two custard creams on a china plate. Hux reached for the mug without even having to check where it sat on his desk, and he could taste the sweet vanilla biscuits even before the first one crumbled onto his tongue.

Ploughing through routine tasks kept Hux happily occupied for hours. At precisely twelve fifty five, Mitaka knocked once and brought in his smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel with watercress, an apple cinnamon crunch muffin and another mug of tea. Hux ate, relishing the familiar flavours of his favourite lunch, then left his office to perform unannounced, drop-in inspections of his employees. They were all perfectly prepared with the latest facts and figures concerning the performance of their respective departments, almost as if they knew he would be coming, and Hux gained a sense of satisfaction that his company operated like a well-trained army with a particularly efficient general. 

At five past six, having texted Ben to say he was on his way, Hux drove out of the car park and set off home. He paused at the same traffic crossings, saw the same red van with the score down the side and the same blue BMW with the amusing bumper sticker and the same Nissan with the unfortunate bright orange custom paint job being driven by the same dark, handsome, wavy-haired man. At seven o’clock, Hux was out of his suit and sitting on the sofa, leaning against Ben’s warm side and eating Thai curry with chicken and extra vegetables while Ben scrolled through the movies on Netflix. Hux smiled. Tomorrow he would get up and do exactly the same things in exactly the same way all over again.

“Um,” said Ben when the film ended and it was time to go to bed. Nestled into his side, Hux turned his head and looked up.  
“What?”  
“We’ve been in a bit of a rut, haven’t we? I mean, we always do the same things at the same time and I wonder if we’re just a kind of habit in human form.”  
Hux felt his stomach drop and his ears buzz. He sat up. “Are you telling me you want to leave?“  
“No! Hux, no.” Ben gathered Hux back into his arms and kissed his head. “No. Um. I thought maybe we could make one change, that’s all. I know you like your routines and that’s fine. It’s part of who you are.”  
“One change,” said Hux. “I suppose I could get used to one change. What did you have in mind? Nepalese instead of Thai for dinner?”  
“Maybe!” Ben said. “No. I wanted to ask you if I could move into your bedroom.”  
“To swap, or to share?” asked Hux.  
“To share, you idiot!” Ben laughed. “If you want.”  
Hux lay back and considered going to sleep and waking up beside Ben. Waking in the night and having the comforting sounds of Ben shifting and snoring softly within reach. Waking in the morning and...  
“Okay,” he said, smile broadening. “I will need to set my alarm for twenty minutes earlier, though.”  
Ben frowned. “What for?”  
Hux laughed. “I just thought of a change to the morning routine.”


End file.
